Starting Art Journaling? Any resources/products you recommend?

I want to start art journaling...but have no idea where to begin! Are there any resources or tutorials you would recommend? Also, what digisupplies are "must haves" for getting started? I have made altered books "in real life" but with digital I don't know where to start! I'm hoping to make an album of all my favorite quotes

This is a great topic... I never even really thought of Art journaling in digi format. I've just always thought of it as you have to write, draw, paint with your hands. -- Kind of like She-Art... is that something people are doing digitally, too now-a-days?

I came across someone else today that does that art journaling style: http://coffeeandtforme.blogspot.com/
I get her newsletter. If I come across others, I'll try to remember to post them in here...

Also, try looking for a digital designer called "ValC Designs." I remember seeing her name pop up somewhere (don't recall where) in relation to the art journaling style... I'd give you the site address, but I don't know it. (sorry)

The Sissy Sparrows link, that Michelle mentioned, has a series, I guess it is, called "The Painted Nest". They are having a challenge that runs to the 18th. They give you the mini-kit to work with (3 things). This is a good way to 'dip your toes in the water'! They are on Challenge 6, but, older challenge files and videos are still available, I believe. They have perks, like coupons, and a friendly little community.

I second the recommendation for Tangie Baxter. She's superb -- check out her blog and her free e-book on art journaling. I noticed that there are many items in the various kits in this month's blog train that would be really cool for art journaling -- in particular, the items offered by Violet Irisovna

I love the different hand-drawn & watercolor items that some of the designers have made... I have never tried creating a layout in art journal style before, but it's something I'd like to try in the future.

This newer topic about using templates for spray mist ink type digital projects got me to thinking about this conversation we all had on here about 6 months ago.
So, I went on a search and wanted to comment here to see if any of our new members (we've had a LOT to join in the past 6 months) has anything they want to share as far as their personal experience or tutorial links or blog posts that talk about the subjects of "Art Journaling" or "Mixed Media"type projects in this digital age.
Looking froward to hearing some more input and thoughts on the subject.

Thanks for finding this Shawna. I've actually started art journaling in real life, so I'm up for discussion!

I would say that right now what I'm struggling most with is what to do. Haha. I mean, should I follow a daily prompt, should I just be random and do what I feel like (sometimes difficult to get over the blank page)...

So I guess my question for anyone art journaling, is how do you decide what to do?

Art journaling has become like breathing to me, just as important. The key to it is just start and keep going. For me there is no pressure for the end result, since the journey is the part that I love. Listening to the Muse and seeing where the page is going. And you do not have to love every page in the end, one can always do a another page.

I spend most of my digi money at Scrapbook Graphics. They've got pretty much anything you could need to make a great looking art journal page whether your style is cleaner, doodle-y, or dreamy masks and blend modes.

The Lilypad has some pretty good stuff mixed in the more traditional scrapbooking kits.

My favorite thing to do though is to scour the internet for the sorts of things that I'd use in a physical scrapbook page. I look for things like magazine scans, old yearbook pages, dictionary pages, and all that sort of thing. You wouldn't be able to sell your art made this way, but mine are just for personal use so I'm not too worried about it.

I also paint papers in the "real world" and scan those in. I use traditional media like acrylic paint, watercolors, or spray paint. I make my own brush strokes using black paint on white cardstock and scan that in. I find interesting bits of found papers that I'd like to use and, as you can probably guess, I scan that in too. I've built up a pretty good stock of personal imagery to use in my art to make pages that are completely unique to me the way they would be if I had created them in my studio.

My favorite thing to do though is to scour the internet for the sorts of things that I'd use in a physical scrapbook page. I look for things like magazine scans, old yearbook pages, dictionary pages, and all that sort of thing.

Also, more Great tip!!! Note to Self: scan scraps and painted pages next time before I add findings to my IRL projects.

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I also paint papers in the "real world" and scan those in. I use traditional media like acrylic paint, watercolors, or spray paint. I make my own brush strokes using black paint on white cardstock and scan that in. I find interesting bits of found papers that I'd like to use and, as you can probably guess, I scan that in too. I've built up a pretty good stock of personal imagery to use in my art to make pages that are completely unique to me the way they would be if I had created them in my studio.

I checked this book Painted Pages out the other day from my local library. I've already called the library and found out that I can check it out two more times in a row, for a total of 6 weeks if no one puts a hold on it. Then I have to bring it back. -- LoL -- I think I might just have to buy a copy though if I don't feel sufficiently satisfied with the knowledge I retain by the end of the 6 week time frame. I also checked out several more on the subjects of mixed media & painting with acrylics that look very interesting. I will let y'all know if any others are equally or more amazing as I scour them over the next two weeks.

Sarah offers an online workshop here, but I don't have the $160 for a four week class. That's almost my entire annual budget for all my crafts, right now!!! LoL

Now just to figure out between the ideas of scanning and scouring the net to turn them into digital, but I've already decided to purchase a small white watercolor painting journal to play in the next time they go on sale 50-60% off at Michaels. LoL

Hey ya'll! I am totally into "Art Journaling"- my site is Art Journal specific. I am transitioning my brand from OTBDS to Altered Amanda's Studio, but you can see the site here til Tuesday - http://outsidetheboxdesignstudio.com/otbds-shoppe -- when it moves to the new url.
Art Journaling is a visual way of doing the old school (but still dearly loved by many) journaling.
There aren't any rules, but there are some neat tips and skills that help you get a cohesive look to your page.

Mixed Media is a method of creating art- it simply means that more than one media was used in the piece:
IE: watercolor and acrylic , or fabric and paper. You may use as many as you like! Here is a mixed media piece
While I am at it, just want to also define "Altered Art". It is NOT when you just change something. That is decorating or embellishing. Altered art is achieved when an object's function is changed in the process of making it an art piece. An "altered book":
It is no longer "readable", it is an art piece now.
It is really cool to see the "hands on art" translated into digital form. Best of both worlds!

@Shawna, I'm a huge fan of "leveraging" my art. Even though I make most of my stuff digitally, I make sure to save a copy of any background I make before I journal on top of it. I scan painted papers I love before I cut them up for other projects. If I make a cool digital element, I make sure that I save it before I do anything else to it so that I can use the basic shape and properties for another similar element. If you've already done the work, why not get as much milage as possible from it?

As far as a reading list, I feel like I've read pretty much every book on art journaling ever. One book I really liked was called Scraptastic by Ashley Calder. It's not an art journaling book per se, but it bridges the gap between scrapbooking and art journaling really well. Honestly, I think it was published about 5 years before it's time. I'm looking at it on Amazon right now and it's ranked at almost 1.5 million, but I'm willing to bet if it had been published in the last year or two it would be much higher right now. Anyway, it's a good book so if you can find it in your library, check it out. I own it and it was well worth the purchase to me.

The only book I'd actively avoid would be Kelly Rae Robert's book, Taking Flight. I like her art a lot, but her book is more about... I dunno, it's like an internal monologue or something. There is very little technique discussed. It's much more focused on discussing her creative thought process which was completely useless for me. Her muse is not my muse, you know?

One of these days I might sit down and actually catalogue some of these books and make a recommended reading list. I've bought probably 30 or 40 books on various art related topics, mostly relating to art journaling. If all my reckless spending can help someone, that'd be an added bonus.

@Wren: This is something I all too often forget that's one of the best things about digital! If I make it the first time, exploit it to the best of my advantage. I usually end up going back and trying to recreate it. :0

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@Shawna, I'm a huge fan of "leveraging" my art. Even though I make most of my stuff digitally, I make sure to save a copy of any background I make before I journal on top of it. I scan painted papers I love before I cut them up for other projects. If I make a cool digital element, I make sure that I save it before I do anything else to it so that I can use the basic shape and properties for another similar element. If you've already done the work, why not get as much milage as possible from it?

Thanks for this book suggestion! I will look it up at the library next time I go over there. We have access to about 15 libraries across the county. Any library book available at any of them can be transferred to my local one and checked out by me. The library is a creative persons (on a budget) best friend. The internet is great too but sometimes, I just like to "step-away" from the PC... so I don't feel stifled or make my eyes tired (overwhelmed), if that makes sense. I can build up and store the ideas in my head of how to use products and then rummage through my brain for later use. If it's a really in-depth technique in a book, I always write down any valuable tips, insights or steps shared. :)

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As far as a reading list, I feel like I've read pretty much every book on art journaling ever. One book I really liked was called Scraptastic by Ashley Calder. It's not an art journaling book per se, but it bridges the gap between scrapbooking and art journaling really well. Honestly, I think it was published about 5 years before it's time. I'm looking at it on Amazon right now and it's ranked at almost 1.5 million, but I'm willing to bet if it had been published in the last year or two it would be much higher right now. Anyway, it's a good book so if you can find it in your library, check it out. I own it and it was well worth the purchase to me.

I can totally understand. I love technique books more than the whys of someone's process. Each person has their own way and reason for what speaks to them internally.

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The only book I'd actively avoid would be Kelly Rae Robert's book, Taking Flight. I like her art a lot, but her book is more about... I dunno, it's like an internal monologue or something. There is very little technique discussed. It's much more focused on discussing her creative thought process which was completely useless for me. Her muse is not my muse, you know?

This would be awesome if you did!!! You could even just start a minimal list type post here... and add a few books to it each week/month so it wasn't an overwhelming "chore" for you but more "fun" just sharing what you like and enjoy as you had time. ... and others could always add to it any they've discovered useful or helpful in defining their creative journeys.

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One of these days I might sit down and actually catalogue some of these books and make a recommended reading list. I've bought probably 30 or 40 books on various art related topics, mostly relating to art journaling. If all my reckless spending can help someone, that'd be an added bonus.

@Shawna, We're looking to buy a house right now. If all goes well we should be able to close on the 15th of November so while I'm packing all my books for the move I'll take a minute to list them and my thoughts right in time for Christmas, lol. It'd actually be nice to go back through and see if I'd like to revisit any of them again. I find myself rereading my favorites probably about once a year. It's funny how differently I view the techniques after I've had a year or so to practice and learn new things to add to them.

@Wren: Congrats on the house hunt/purchase. We've been looking for a few months now and each time we get close to saying yes to one. It gets pulled off the market and tagged as "sale pending/sold". We had hoped to be in one by Christmas to the 1st of the year but with closing the way they take a while sometimes and the fact that we're kind of starting over, since the ones we liked are gone... It may be spring... I guess that will be a perfect time for Spring Cleaning as we relocate our lives a a more permanent pad. Right?

PS That's all the hubby needs is for me to make my Christmas wish list longer. LoL

@Shawna, Sorry I'm just now responding. I've been running around like a crazy woman all week.

I'm sorry about the timing on your houses. I tend to get really attached to the point where I'm pretty much convinced the house is practically mine. It could still fall apart with the one we like, but we did manage to put in an offer today so hopefully they'll accept and we'll go from there. If we don't end up with that house though I'm not sure how I'll cope. I have been thinking about it so much that I've literally started dreaming about decorating the house and storing all our stuff in it. Hopefully, you guys find something you love soon!

It's funny though. We told our realtor what we absolutely needed in a house, including a fenced backyard for the kids and dogs. The house doesn't have most of our criteria. I guess we were more flexible than I thought, lol.

@Rhonda: Glad we could help you at least give it a go... I'll be watching for a photo or two of your playing around with the idea. I think I may start a thread for us to share since we don't really have a dedicated gallery for art journaling. Then at least we can show off our tinkerings to each other that our exited about it.

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The idea of doing it digitally makes it doable for me now. Thank all for the great suggestions and websites to find tutorials, etc.

@Wren: No worries, I've had one of those weeks myself, looking forward to some (well at least, a-midst the work) a few minutes of relaxation this weekend.

AND... I TOTALLY understand about the compromising being more than you thought. Budget and desired location seem to be ruling our decision more than anything else, desire wise. It's interesting how much you learn about who you really are (as far as who you thought you were) while on a house hunt or buying a house. LoL

@Shawna: I love the idea of having a thread for showing off our art journaling efforts.

A suggestion for all - if you make an art journal-esque piece and put it in the gallery here, tag it "art journal," which will make it easy to eventually pull up the whole community art journal collection.

Also - I am always looking for brushes/PNGs of scribbles and doodles for art journal pages. That's one of the things that is SO easy to do in real-life art journaling and SO hard in digital if you don't have a tablet. Most of the free Photoshop scribble brushes out there are sized way too small to look right on a 12x12 page. Anyone know of any good ones? I'd prefer to find some freebies but I might buy some if I found a perfect set.